<p>Online doctor team has become a common mode for online healthcare communities, but there are fewer studies on the impact of new teamwork mode in which assistants are involved in doctors’ personal consultation services on doctors’ online consultation volume. Based on signaling theory, this paper investigates how signals in the collaborative process affect patients’ cognition in doctors, which in turn affects doctors’ online consultation volume. Using an empirical model based on data from 24,417 doctors in Beijing and Shanghai, the study finds that teamwork mode involving doctors and assistants positively influences doctors’ online consultation volume as well as increases doctors’ service quality and patients’ satisfaction, particularly when doctors have high recommendation popularity. However, a high proportion of assistant responses and doctors’ high hospital rank may weaken this positive impact. This study provides theoretical insights and practical guidance for optimizing online medical services, emphasizing the importance of balancing assisted involvement in the teamwork mode to improve service efficiency and patient satisfaction.</p>